Kan Otake pitched a four-hitter over seven scoreless innings and Katsuhiro Nagakawa retired the side on three strikeouts in the ninth inning as the Hiroshima Carp shut out the Hanshin Tigers 1-0 in Central League action on Thursday night.
Tomonori Maeda led off the second inning with a single and came around to score the eventual game winner at Koshien Stadium on a Kenjiro Nomura RBI single off Keiichi Yabu (0-2), sending the crowd of 53,000 home disappointed with a fourth consecutive loss.
Otake (1-0) walked four and struck out four in a 122-pitch outing for his first win of the season, while Nagakawa picked up his fourth save in five games.
Hiroshima southpaw Tsuyoshi Kikuchihara was ejected after hitting Norihiro Akahoshi in the shoulder in the eighth.
Swallows 4, BayStars 1
At Yokohama Stadium, Atsunori Inaba broke a 1-1 tie by delivering a Takeharu Kato pitch to deep center for an RBI double with none out and two on in the ninth inning to spark a three-run rally as Yakult defeated Yokohama.
Shinya Miyamoto hit a solo shot in the first inning to give the visitors an early lead, but Hitoshi Tamura countered with a solo shot of his own in the fourth to back an eight-strikeout effort by Daisuke Miura, who ended up with a no-decision.
Jason Beverlin (2-0) outdueled Miura by pitching a three-hitter over eight strong innings, with six strikeouts and four walks.